#vilford

Gwyn sat down in front of the prisoner, who had his arms and legs tied to a chair. He stared at the other man, the man he thought he knew, with a deep frown. He hated how the other man looked completely unperturbed by his current circumstances.

"Just ask," the other man sighed, "so we can get this over with."

That was the problem, however, Gwyn didn't know what to ask. Everything he knew was wrong, and this person was excellent at deflecting. So he had no idea what he could say to get to the truth. "You're not Vilford."

"Nope."

Gwyn arched an eyebrow. Something about that didn't sound right. "Who are you?"

"Varius," the other man grinned, "and before you ask, no, we're not twins."

Gwyn was silent for a while as he studied the prisoner then carefully asked, "Is Vilford another person or another name?"

"Both, either, take your pick." Varius shrugged.

Right, that didn't help... "Why are you here?"

"Was hired to kill your long term patient."

"Wh-why?!"

"I dunno," he shrugged, "I don't ask those type of questions."

"You just kill."

"I just kill."

"And why do you kill?"

"Uhhh money? Survival?"

"You can do other things for that."

"Not all of us are blessed with options."

"You have options."

"Yeah, kill or die trying."

Gwyn’s frown deepened, if possible. “But you know Vilford.”

“Yep.”

“Where is he?”

“Around.”

Gwyn paused to analyze the man in front of him. "So why can't you both survive with Vilford's talent? You obviously know each other and get along well enough to plan this."

"One: Vilford doesn't know who my targets are, specifically. Two: we don't have a choice."

"...So you're being forced to do this."

"Maybe."

Gwyn stared at Varius. This was risky, but, "Do you need help?"

"Uh." Varius blinked. He looked genuinely surprised. "I need a burger. I'm hungry."

Gwyn sighed. He shook his head and got up. He had to make rounds. 

"If you leave, you won't see me again," Varius warned, "you sure you wanna go?"

"I have rounds. My patients need me."

"Sure. Bye."

Gwyn made sure to lock the door behind him when he exited the room. He paused then moved a chair to block the doorknob. The two security guards standing at the door gave him an odd look but Gwyn ignored them. He took a deep breath and walked off, and hoped the prisoner would be there when he came back.

-x-x-x-x-

“Your moves are too repetitive and predictable,” Hector told the recruit. “You need to stop attacking in a pattern.”

“Sorry, sir,” the recruit looked sheepish. “I’m not good with fighting; I’m a medic.”

“Can you at least shoot a gun?”

“...Not really..”

Hector frowned. “Why are you in the military if you can’t fight?”

The recruit glanced out the small window and back to his superior officer. “The zee calls to me.”

“So join a merchant boat.”

“No, I, I can do this. I’ve been learning.” 

“Then come back after you can fire a gun.” Hector waved his hand and dismissed the recruit. 

“But—“

“—You are dismissed,” Hector said sternly. The warning in his voice got through. The recruit immediately saluted and left the office. Hector sighed and looked at the recruit’s file again. A kid named Vilford.... What a dumb name. 

-x-x-x-