20 If at First you don't Succeed

Amon woke up early, the clock by his bedside indicated half-past six, and he started the day by washing his face. Thanks to the night of rest, the exhaustion that was visible on his face was nearly gone, and his state of mind was much sharper than before. He reached under his bed to pick up the files about the three Holy Knights and carefully looked through them. He had faced them once before and had a better understanding of their abilities. He scoured the files in search of any details he might have missed that could grant him an advantage over them but found nothing after nearly two hours. He was about to go for another round when he heard a knock at the door.

Amon already knew who it was and didn't bother checking before opening the door. Sure enough, Ven was standing in front of the door. She wore what looked like a light black shirt, a jacket and some pants that looked similar to the guard's military uniform. The whole outfit was somewhat similar to the guard's uniform, but it could also pass as some casual clothing. It was a rather smart clothing choice as it was inconspicuous and would be easy to move in during combat.

Amon had forgotten that he was still shirtless, but under Ven's inquisitive gaze, he could only ignore it and act like nothing was wrong. When she saw him open the door shirtless, Ven was a bit stunned, and she wondered if he was always like that or if he wanted to show off. Since it did not affect her last night, was he attempting to see if she had a better reaction in broad daylight?

Nonetheless, she chose not to comment on his clothing situation and went inside the room. To cover his embarrassment, Amon quickly picked out a shirt at random and wore it. Right now, Ven's eyes were attracted to the files he had left on his bed, and he allowed her to take a peak. He offered Ven a cup of coffee, but she declined, so he brewed himself some while watching her read the files.

When she put them down, he asked her: "Found anything interesting?

-Nothing that you haven't already told me about.

-I've been racking my brain for a while now trying to see if I've missed an important detail, but nothing came to mind. That being said, I've come up with a theory, but we should wait for Bel to arrive before I get further into it.

-How are you feeling this morning? Have you washed away the exhaustion from your last fight?

-I wasn't so sure, but after seeing you, I feel fully recovered.

Ven roller her eyes and paid his comment no further attention. At that moment, another knock on the door spared Amon the embarrassment of another failed attempt at seduction, and he went to look at who it was. Through the peephole, he could only see a giant cloaked figure and instantly knew it was Bel. He opened the door and made way for him to enter.

Bel removed his cloak as soon as he entered the room and nodded slightly towards Ven. If he recognized her from the incident near the captain's murder scene, he didn't show it on his face. He wasn't too keen on the presence of an outsider, even if she was from the Ravens, but he knew that in the current situation they would need some help. Without using their limited augmentation, it would be impossible for the two Ravens to win against the three Holy Knights in a fight and a third person would bring balance to those odds. Furthermore, even if she wasn't able to contend against a Holy Knight by herself, Bel felt that if she could ensure their survival after when the backlash from the limited augmentation hit them, it would be quite enough.

To keep up appearances and to avoid fostering a negative atmosphere from the get-go, Bel introduced himself to Ven. She did the same and gave a summary of her augmentations so that the two assassins would be able to gauge her true fighting strength. Since Amon had already fought against her, this new information would allow him to form a complete portrait of her skills.

Unlike Amon who had a balanced mix of physical augmentations and Bel who was mostly focused on pure strength, Ven had some augmentations to strength and reflexes and had the gust nanotechnological augmentation that allowed her to generate bursts of powerful wind. All in all, the team formed by the three of them seemed balanced, but they needed to prepare a battle plan to deal with the Holy Knights. They had Ven as a trump card since she wasn't with them the previous night. If the Holy Knights thought that there were only two Ravens, they would plan accordingly. By having another member, Amon might be able to break their plans easily.

The other challenge they faced was that they needed to engage the Holy Knights on a battlefield that would be beneficial to them. If they infiltrated the mansion again, provided that they could even do such a thing, it was clear that the Holy Knights would have upped their defences. In such circumstances, it would be foolish to invade the mansion once again.

Amon exposed the problems they would face to the other two and asked if they had any questions or suggestions before they moved forward with discussing and planning their strategy. At that question, Ven remembered that Amon had a theory that he wanted Bel to hear. "Right, while I was going to sleep last night, I had a wild idea. What if the Holy Knights decided to attack the safe house earlier than planned.

Both Bel and Ven showed a skeptical face before Amon's suggestions. The Holy Knights had planned and prepared for nearly a month. If they were to act earlier, they wouldn't be able to muster their maximum strength. It might be enough to wipe the safe house, but with the carefulness they had exhibited up to now, they most likely wanted a complete victory. As such, if they were to advance the date of the operation, especially with the Ravens in town, it would be too much of a risk.

-I know it might sound outlandish, but you must remember who we are facing against. Stormbringer is a brilliant strategist, and his thinking is different from ordinary people. I realized that fact yesterday when I saw the extent of his scheming. Now I want you two to picture this. If it was only Bel and I, what would be the most logical course of action?

Bel thought for a bit before giving answering with what he would have done, were he alone.

-I would not try to assassinate them again so I would wait for a day and recover my strength. At the planned time of their assault, I would wait in the shadows while they fought with the operatives at the safe house, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and eliminate them. This would minimize the risk to me and maximize my chance of victory.

-That's exactly what I was thinking at first. However, what would happen if we weren't there to ambush the Holy knights while they attacked the safe house? They would surely manage a complete victory. At that point, we would have no way of assassinating them, as they would be too careful and have an overwhelming advantage in terms of numbers.

-So, what are you getting at?

Bel was getting impatient as strategies were never his strong suit, and he preferred taking action. However, Ven had a small light of understanding flash in her eyes as she started to get on the same as Amon.

-What I'm saying is that the best way to act without us intervening is simply to strike before their previous plans. If we are too rigid in our thinking and assume that they will stick by their original plan, they will pull the rug from under us and leave us in the dust. I do not doubt that right now, Stormbringer is preparing a blitz operation. By the time we would have received word from the operatives at the safe house, it would be too late.

-So you're suggesting that Stormbringer will deal with the safe house before being fully ready and will then bait us into giving ourselves to him on a silver platter?

-Exactly. He knows that with just the two of us we won't dare take action today, due to our injuries and the need to act sneakily. However, he doesn't know that I've seen through him and that we have Ven as a secret ace.

As Bel thought some more about the plan that Amon had brought up, a cruel smile was drawn on his lips. Yesterday he could only flee like a dog, but today, he would drench the streets in blood and make the Holy Knights understand why he was so feared that legends about him would be well-known tales to scare the children throughout the Order.