A Deal with the Assassins

Sandra Wu-San.

That was a name famous in Sichuan as one of the best practitioners of martial arts.

And the same name was later known worldwide as one of the most deadly assassins out there, under the sobriquet of Lady Shiva.

She was unmatched in her craft; even the famous Deathstroke was unable to defeat her, so when she took the mission – she did not expect such an outcome.

To be captured by a man younger than her.

And worst of all, he toyed with her before capturing her.

She was tied up to a metallic pole. And she would have broken free of the confines if not for them being made of steel.

Next to her was her partner for the mission – tied and still unconscious – the mistress of poison, Cheshire.

It was a mission with guaranteed success. Even if someone like Green Arrow were to come, they would have been able to neutralize him with Cheshire's poison and her martial arts, but this man was different.

Different and strong.

Boarding the territory of terrifying.

And while she did not want to draw his attention, he noticed that she had regained her consciousness.

"I guess the poison was stronger than I expected," He said as he walked towards her, "But you seem to have a far stronger constitution than most, Lady Shiva."

Sandra frowned, "What are you planning to do with us?"

She was prepared for the worst, even if it meant losing her pride as a woman.

But thankfully, the man in front of her had absolutely no interest in such things.

"Nothing exactly," He said, "Just talk."

She frowned, "I will not be revealing anything."

He chuckled, "Oh don't worry. I won't be asking anything that you might consider a secret."

He looked at Cheshire, "But it would be best if we had this conversation with both of you together."

Saying this, he swirled his finger over the Vietnamese woman – creating a puddle of water over her head that came crashing down.

Immediately causing the woman to slam her eyelids open.

"W-What!"

She tried adjusting to the sudden change in scenery.

"Good Morning," Jasper greeted, "You easily slept for twelve hours."

Cheshire's eyes opened wide in realization; she recalled the memories and understood her situation.

"Calm," Sandra whispered, "It's alright… for now."

Cheshire was shocked to see Lady Shiva chained up beside her.

"What do you want…" She asked, worried about her fate.

"I already explained this to Lady Shiva," he said, "I only want to talk. Ask you a few things, not secrets but questions regarding the future."

This made the two women look at one another, unsure of what he was up to.

"I have a certain someone I need to meet as well, so I would like it to be quick… If it is fine with the two of you, that is?" 

Sandra was a bit reluctant, but Cheshire – Jade Nguyen as she went by without her persona – wanted to not stay stuck in this mess for long.

"Ask," She said, "Do remember you will not get any secrets even if you try to phrase your sentences."

Jasper nodded, assuring the two of them, "Of course, I know that. And the only thing that might be considered a secret that I would like to get out of the way right at the start is…" He smiled, "Is there a group you are part of that might come hunting for you – not me, you – for failing the mission?"

The two women were confused, they could understand if he was worried that someone that they knew might come hunting for him.

But no, he asked if there was someone that would come hunting them.

And while they were going through the countless possibilities of why he might be asking that, the answer was rather simple.

"No." Sandra answered honestly, "There are none."

"Perfect!" They were surprised to see him excited, "That is exactly the answer I was hoping for."

Again, they were confused about what could be so great about that.

But when he asked them the next question, he got a gist of the situation.

"Well that brings me to my main question," He asked, "Since you are assassins for hire… What are the requirements to hire you? Be it money, conditions, and other things."

That's when the two women realized what he wanted to ask.

Which made Jade ask, "You… want to hire us?"

She was baffled by the possibility of the man they tried to kill and the man that defeated them in a breeze casually wanting them to work for him.

"You are quick to catch on." Jasper smiled, "I want to hire you, but with a little bit of added conditions."

Sandra frowned, "We do not accept jobs that involve killing children or ones where the pride and modesty of a woman might be put at risk."

"Be assured," He said, "I have no interest in children, and I am not a mentally ill rapist. I simply want your skills, your expertise in my arsenal."

"You are stronger than both of us combined," Jade was curious, "Why would you even need our skills?"

"It is physically not possible for me to be present at every place at every moment in time," He said, "Oftentimes there are two things that I need taken care of at the same time, and I was hoping that it would be exactly where you two step in."

Sandra was amused, "And what about the additional condition that you talked about?"

"It's very simple actually," He laughed, "While I want to hire you, I want to do so for an indefinite amount of time. That is, I do not want you to work for anyone else during that time frame."

"That is–"

Without letting them come up with excuses, he continued, "Of course, you don't have to worry about money. And if you still want to work for someone else during that time frame – you can, as long as it does not interfere or harm my plans or missions in any way or form."

"What if we don't accept?" Sandra asked, "Do we die here?"

"Of course not," Jasper was amused at hearing such a thing, "It would be a sin to kill people as skilled as you."

Jade and Sandra were now entirely lost. They had never come across someone like Jasper as nothing that they expected from him came from him.

"I will let you go if you accept my deal, I will let you go even if you don't." He said, "But to add another thing to interest you… I will make sure that you can walk in public in your actual identity without the police being at your tail."

This made them both freeze.

The police were one of the reasons that they could not live a proper double life.

As their identities were out in the public because of the naivety of their younger self.

But this man was giving them a ridiculous offer.

"How can we trust you?"

"You don't have to," Jasper replied immediately, "But if you do accept, I have ways to make it possible."

That way being Penguin.

Sandra and Jade were now conflicted; they were presented with a stable life as well as a stable income.

But they were still a little uneasy about it all.

After all, it was the very same man that beat them up without breaking a sweat.

"We… need time to think about it." They said, finally coming to a conclusion.

"Of course," Jasper said, satisfied at being able to present them with his points. "Anytime is fine."

He was satisfied, but now he knew that there was something else that he needed to do.

Someone else that he needed to meet, after all he still hadn't received his reward.

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