Chapter Text
The Constant talked too much but expressed nothing at all, Diana was tired of his banter, with a look so smug it’d make you think he knew something that you didn’t, and that was exactly the case, so much in fact, that time was against Diana, they needed information, and fast, but the Constant was so good at feigning naivety, it was hard to tell when he was truly ignorant of something.
The Bank was a success, yet 47 barely showed his usual changes in micro expressions after a successful contract, like the slight way his shoulders relaxed, or how his face lost some of its roughness, showing a more calm demeanor than usual. This had been going on for a few months now, Diana was sure it had something to do with 47 getting his memories back, probably the uncertainty of what happened to his other brothers caused him some sort of distress, but 47 true to his character, revealed nothing. However, she did notice how he seemed to act more stiff than usual to her, almost in the same way he did back when he shot her a few years back.
As concerned as she was for his well being, she couldn’t force him to tell her what was wrong, and much less with the matter at hand, Providence always seemed to be one step ahead of them, and they needed to focus on taking them down first, there’d be plenty of time to get 47 to visit a psychiatrist after eliminating the enemy.
At least, she could rest assured that this time, they were not alone in their hunt. Lucas and Olivia worked tirelessly to gather information everywhere they could, sometimes even going out into the field like 47, but during these last few weeks, it seemed to be more productive to stay on the boat, away from any coast lowering the risk of getting caught by Providence or the ICA.
While 47’s abilities shone best in the field, it didn’t mean he wasn’t skilled in the theoretical aspect of their jobs, he could do research as efficiently and accurately as Diana herself, she often joked to him that when he finally felt himself growing too old for the field, he could keep working as a Handler and still be the best agent in all of the ICA, 47 of course, seemed to ignore this comments, if the way he barely managed to protect Victoria wasn't proof enough that he wasn't, but he kept that to himself knowing that she was probably just playfully mocking him.
They had been working nonstop for 5 days already, but found no leads that could help them take down Providence, and Diana’s patience was wearing thin, so, she went back to the Constant while mentally preparing herself for whatever games he decided to play on that specific day. 47 seemed hesitant to let her go alone, not because she wasn’t capable of handling herself, he didn’t really have an argument against her, so he didn't say anything on the subject.
“Miss Burnwood, good to see you again… have you come across anything new?”
“Had that been the case, I would have not come back down here, would I?”
He smirked, of course he knew that, all previous encounters had been because of the same reason, he had lent as little as help as possible, just feeding them enough information to keep him alive, but not enough as to betray his superiors. “I had the suspicion it was like that, after all, Providence is very adept at erasing their tracks”
“If that’s so, then how are you still alive? Clearly if they were as good as you claim, they would have already found us, and you’d be most likely killed along, no loose ends and all that”
“Oh, but they know how to time their moves, every single step is calculated to make nuances like you to never suspect an attack”
“Do tell me more, mister Edwards”
“Please, it would be foolish to assume that the ICA was the only company that offered swift elimination”
“Perhaps, but I doubt they’d rather hire a second best when they could get the top choice”
“Please Miss Burnwood, have you forgotten how we came to this situation in the first place? You want to find out how is it that your little assassin came to be. Don’t tell me you didn’t consider the possibility that we had more disposables like him”
“Given that Ort-Mayer died 20 years ago, the thought crossed our minds briefly, but we discarded it as soon as we realized Providence wouldn’t be imprudent enough to try the same strategy twice, especially considering how the fist one turned out.”
The Constant grimaced, he was running out of time, no matter the executioner, the outcome was the same, and by God, he knew he wasn’t ready for death just yet, so he decided to play his last card
“Oh, how different things would have been had just a few things not happened. Where do you think your little assassin would be today had he and his brother not escaped?”
“Not that it is any of my business, but I assume wasting away somewhere with your superiors, where they would have most likely taken either your place as Constant or conspired to be the leaders of Providence”
“And where would you be? With your family?”
Diana’s face didn’t change in the slightest, she knew he thought of this as a game, and as such, she would not give him the satisfaction of a reaction, just a response
“And how does my personal life affect your superiors, if I may know?”
“In many ways Miss Burnwood, remember, we branch out to the state of anonymity, even the smallest pawn has a function in the grand scheme of things”
Diana said nothing, the Constant chuckled, thinking that he had won this little encounter
“There’s this small site, somewhere hidden in the vast web, where all of Providence’s small players report their progress, trying to prove themselves to scale the pyramid that we represent”
That was something Diana could use, but why would he tell her this? He must have some ulterior motive “Of course, it is all old news, most of these companies have not survived the test of time, pulled out of the company before their failures became our own... one could say these sad seeds brought no fruit to our large garden.”
Diana did not change her expression, taking the words in, not revealing anything to the man.
“Well, that’s quite the statement Mister Edwards, after all, no pawn is too small in the large scheme of things” and with that, she closed the door behind her and went back upstairs.
On the outside, she seemed as calm as ever, but her mind was screaming at her that something was very, very wrong. She had been working in this field for way to long to not listen to her gut, but Providence was nothing like her previous experiences, she needed to make sure that the information she was receiving was something to trust before jumping to conclusions.
“Diana,” said 47 as she came back into the room. She looked up at her agent, who seemed as serious as usual, but there it was, that little stiffness in his posture, as well as something in his eyes she couldn’t quite place, but it wasn’t normal. “Olivia found some old Providence properties, most of which are either renovated, or non-existent”
“Well, that’s just part of the lead the Constant just provided, we need to find an old site, it lists all of Providence’s minor branches, we might gather some insight as to where they could have hidden”
“I’ll get right on it, but I need at least one name” said Olivia, Diana hesitated before answering
“Try Blue Seed, it might lead you somewhere useful”
And with that, she retired to her quarters, having had enough of Providence for the day. She didn’t seem to notice that 47 had quietly followed her, which surprised her more than expected due to his recent coldness towards her in the past few months.
“Diana, I have to tell you something” the resolve in his voice entranced Diana, usually when he was this serious, something really bad was bound to happen. “It’s about Blue Seed” Diana’s heart dropped to her stomach, but she would not let him see that, specially because this was 47.
“What is it?” he chose his words carefully, Diana could see the gears shifting in his head slowly, which was incredibly unusual of him, she saw him slowly taking a deep but quiet breath in before he spoke
“They…” he exhaled quietly, seemingly changing his mind “Disappeared, 15 years ago… I doubt we can find anything that links them to Providence”
“Nothing is ever really gone 47, we just have to dig deep enough and answers will come forth” with that she turned around and continued down her path, 47 no longer tailing after her.
Defeated was not a word one would use to define 47, but at the moment, nothing could ever describe him more accurately, as he debated whether or not to continue investigating or just call it a day and get to contemplate the enveloping darkness of the sea, sleep be damned. And so, that’s how things stayed, with the ever-present knowledge that at any moment something bad would happen, and that there was nothing that could prevent it, and all thanks to something that was out of anyone’s control.