Aaron Knoxx: Hired Gun

Stormhaven.

Soweiland's one and only port town, where all the big ships and little boats come and go.

On this pleasant summer day, Jacob Monroe and his assistant, Renee Pascal, are waiting for the cargo ship of the international mercenary force, AXON, to dock, as they will become the new police force.

Also joining the Minister is the chief of police of Sowei City, Owen McCord, a veteran of the Sowei revolution.

"Detective." Monroe greeted the officer.

"Minister Monroe, Miss Pascal." He said back. Monroe shook his hand. Renee ignored him.

"So you say you haveanaged to man the entire police force overnight? Personally I find that hard to believe."

"Patience is a virtue, detective." Monroe said. "Although I suppose I should inform you that the gentlemen I've invited aren't formal police officers."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Renee asked.

"Actions speak louder than words, Renee. There they are."

A ginormous dark gray ship arrived at the dock. The letter "A" was painted in the hull. The ship activated it's horn, and it echoed loudly. Detective McCord and Renee exchanged worried glances. The ship lowered the anchor and docked successfully, and through it's gate none other than Rowan Callaghan, director of AXON walked out. He was flanked by Craig, wearing a mask that concealed his identity, and another man named Aiden with an identical.

"Jake you son of a gun!" He exclaimed. "Look at you, dressed all professional!" Monroe shook Rowan's hand.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice. I wasn't expecting you to show up in person..." Monroe said.

"Please, anything for an old friend." He laughed it off. "Craig, begin unpacking. You're in charge till I get back."

Craig nodded and he along with Aiden ran back in the ship.

"I'd like to introduce you to Renee, my assistant." Monroe said.

"Well hello there. Aren't you a little young to work in the government?" Rowan asked as he raised his hand for a handshake.

"Trust me, I'm experienced enough." Renee said, and reluctantly shook his hand.

"And you must be the captain." Rowan turned to detective McCord.

"That's right." He said. "Follow me, I will show you to your, uh, living quarters." McCord said, and he left with Rowan to his camp, leaving Monroe and Renee to oversee the ship.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Renee asked.

"AXON. Mercenaries." Monroe explained. "We pay them and they fight for us. There's at least 5000 of them worldwide."

"And are you sure we can trust them?" Renee asked.

"As long as we pay, I don't see why not. And yes, before you ask, I did talk to the council about this. They approved."

"McGee approved of dumb dudes with guns?"

"She said she could build better cops. But then asked for 2 million dollars which we do not have." Monroe said.

"And how much do we pay this AXON?" Renee questioned him.

"450k a year. It's a risky move, but you need to make risks in order to get things done around here." He explained. "Besides, Francis is still paying us reparations."

"No, he's not." Renee said, puzzled.

"We'll figure it out." Monroe said with a grin plastered on his face. "For now, we must return to the ministry. I have to prepare for my interview tonight."

_____________________________________

The same evening, Jacob Monroe had made his way to the studio of Sowei City 1, the biggest news broadcasting channel in Soweiland.

Once he went inside the receptionist redirected him to studio 3, where Theodore Soleman, up-and-coming presenter and reporter in Sowei City 1, and self proclaimed King of Gossip, was waiting for him.

"Minister Monroe!" He greeted him with a smile on his face. "Please, take a seat. As you know this will be broadcast live on our radio station, so we will begin shortly."

5 minutes passed, and the recording began. Soleman cleared his throat and began the show.

"Good evening folks, and welcome to Soweiland News, right here on Sowei City 1, the first and the best way to get informed. I'm your fabulous host, Theodore Soleman, and today we have a special guest in the studio. Newly appointed minister of Civilian Protection, Mr. Jacob Monroe! Tell me, is it okay if I just call you Jacob?" Soleman opened the program.

"No." Monroe said.

"Wonderful! So tell me, Jacob, you've gone ahead and revitalised the local police force. What is your goal with this new force?" Soleman asked.

"My goal is to stop crime, of course, but I do have another target. The Black Island Mafia, that's what! These hardened criminals have been running the underworld for far too long. I'm going to root em out and secure the safety of the populous."

"There have been rumours that the new police force you have established is actually consisting of hired guns. How do you respond to these allegations?" Soleman asked.

"I'm not denying that they are, but it allows me to make sure that the investigations go smoothly. If I were you, I wouldn't think about it too much." Monroe said.

"There are also rumours you're romantically involved with your new assistant." Soleman said and started smirking.

"What? She's 20 years old, you madman! I'm 50!" Monroe yelled.

Soleman started laughing, prompting Monroe to stand up, upset.

"That's it, I'm out of here!" He announced, and stomped out of the room, leaving Soleman alone to end his program.

"He left folks! But don't switch stations! Stay tuned for our next segment, AJ Melan: Missing in action? Only on Sowei City 1, after the break!!"

_____________________________________

Jacques Lanos was in shock.

The entire operation was exposed on national radio!

"I must report to Monsieur No-Name, immediately!" He said aloud and sprinted to Jimmy Falcone's office, where he was calmly drinking a glass of wine.

"Monsieur Monroe just announced he's hired a 500-man AXON force to come hunt for us on Sowei City 1!" He said once he ran in the room.

Jimmy spat out his drink, threw the glass of wine against the wall, and it splattered all over the floor.

"Monsieur Butler just mopped that floor..." Manos said.

"Who does that two-tone backstabbing little skank think he is? AXON? AXON??" Tony yelled out, and smashed another glass againt the wall.

"Monsieur, please, is of no consequence."

"No consequence? NO CONSEQUENCE?! He waltzed into the ministry with a criminal record the size of CHINA and they let him stay? I want him dead y'hear me? DEAD!"

"What of that Enforcer we recruited?" Lanos asked.

"Of course... But the boss cannae find out about this..." Jimmy said. "Go get me Aaron Knoxx, boy!"

Lanos ran out the room again and headed to the Black Island city. When he wasn't completing the Big Tuscan's contracts, Aaron was drinking his mind out and flirting with random girls at the Little Fish Casino and Lounge. When Lanos found him, he had a very noticeable hand-shaped mark on his left cheek.

"Struck out again, Monsieur Assasin?" Lanos asked once he found him.

"Aaron Knoxx never misses, Frenchie. And as you can see, neither do his girls. You don't happen to have any cream for this do you?" Aaron asked.

"Non. Monsieur No-Name has called you back to base. It's a matter of grave importance."

"What's Jimmy want? I don't get my assignments from him?"

"It's a private contract, I believe."

Aaron's interest peaked, so he followed Lanos back to Jimmy's office. He was a mess of wine and sweat by the time they got back.

"Finally!" He exclaimed.

"Jimmy, what happened to ya?" Aaron asked when he first got in the room.

"Listen boy, we're in deep waters. The new minister has started the hunt for our operation." Jimmy said. "Now the boss cannae find out about this or he'll kill us both, y'hear. So imma need ya to go kill the bastard."

"And what do I get if I do what you say?"

"You will be paid handsomely."

"I noticed you skipped the matter of my fee." Aaron said, smirking.

"What fee?" Jimmy got if his chair and leaned closer to the dishonourable assassin.

"The 'don't go blab to the boss' fee. Double my pay, and I'll do what you say."

Jimmy frowned at the smirking man.

"Fine Knoxx. Ya win. Go kill him and I'll pay you 40.000$." Jimmy conceded.

"Pleasure doing business. I'll be back in a jiffy." Aaron said, and walked out of the room, looking real proud of himself.

_____________________________________

Jacob Monroe had returned to his office in the castle, where he decided to finalise some plans.

He'd been awake all day, so we was a little groggy. But this project was of utmost importance.

Meanwhile, Aaron had perched on a tower nearby with a direct view of Monroe's office window. He'd assembled a sniper rifle and was ready to fire.

Bang!

The bullet fired and went above the target's shoulder, landing on the table. Monroe was alarmed. He immediately flipped the table and blocked the window, then ran to the door.

"Shit!" Aaron exclaimed. He whipped out a grappling hook and swung right into the window, kicking the table out of the way.

Monroe was still trying to unlock the door.

"Oh shit! It's the Enforcer!" He yelled out.

"Oh god damnit, why do do I have to kill the only person who's recognised me!?" Aaron said, and continued shooting. One of the bullets destroyed the lock, promotion Monroe to run straight out.

Aaron gave chase, and due to his younger age and improved physical abilities, he caught up, kicking the older man right through the door of the council room.

Monroe quickly stood up and kicked a chair in Aaron's face.

"Get lost, assasin! Tell your boss I've already won!" Monroe said.

Aaron took a running start and kneed Monroe in the jaw knocking him at the wall. Then he took Leo's armchair and trapped him underneath.

"For the record, I approve of your... Campaign." Aaron said. " But there's 40 grand on the line, and your life isn't worth any more."

Aaron quickly finished his contract with a bullet to the head, busted another window and swung out of there.

_____________________________________

The next day, Geowar arriged at the castle early in the morning. The only one awake was Renee, who had been sent by her father to open the meeting room. Geowar had ditched the cape and combat suit and had instead opted for a baggy blue hoodie and black sweatpants, making him look exceptionally human.

"Hello Renee!" He greeted her. "Pleasant morning, today?"

"Oh, it's just you. What do you want?" She asked.

"Nothing, just to get to know you, that's all."

"Well I've got nothing to share, so get lost."

"Please, I am sure you are a very interesting person." Geowar said. "Besides, you fought my predecessor. Horrible as he was he was still powerful. No average person can accomplish that!"

Renee grabbed him by his shirt collar.

"Listen here you! Your 'predecessor' had my mom killed, alright? So get off my case and leave me alone!" She said.

Geowar raised his hands in defence.

"Jeez, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend." He said, to no response. Renee then opened the door to the meeting room, only to be greeted to the mess from last night.

"What happened here?" Geowar asked. "Couldn't you hear any of this going on from your room?"

"I thought Jessie was trying to play the guitar again." Renee said.

Geowar was confused as to how the sound of chairs falling could be mistaken for guitar playing, but decided not to comment.

After clearing out the room, Geowar spoke up.

"Renee, I would like for you to be present in today's meeting." He said. Renee raised an eyebrow at this.

_____________________________________

An hour or so later, the meeting was in session. Geowar had made sure everyone knew about how dire the situation was.

"Okay, Geowar, what did you do now?" Leo asked.

"I did nothing. But the Black Island Mafia did. This morning we discovered that Jacob Monroe was assassinated yesterday night." Various gasps and a "Already? Seriously?" Were heard, although nobody figured out who said that.

"So now what?" Nick asked. " Are we getting a new guy?"

"Nope." Renee said. "I'm taking over. And I already have a plan to take them down."

"Hell no." Leo got up and said. "This is WAY too dangerous. You saw what happened to the last guy!"

"It's alright Leo." Lucius said. "If she believes she can do it, I say we let her."

"Well, it's your kid." Leo conceded.

"So what's your idea?" O'Lop asked.

"A secret service. We send 5/10 guys to infiltrate their ranks for intel, and once we have what we need, we strike!" Renee explained. "I took some inspiration from Minister Monroe's plans, and spiced them up a bit."

"I had another idea..." Geowar said, then grabbed the intercom. "Jessica, could you please call George Renie to the meetings room?"

"My assistant? What do you need him for?" Dr. Parr asked.

"You'll see. I need you both to hear this." Geowar said.

George worked inside the room soon after.

"You called?" He asked.

"Yes. I think it's time the two of you build something for me. I need you to assemble the Grand Database." Geowar said, then smirked.

_____________________________________

Meanwhile, outside the castle, a man wearing a lab coat and rectangular glasses was eavesdropping on the conversation. When he heard the words "Grand Database", he knew that was something he could use.