The dining hall fell silent as Vhul strode into it. [i] Good. [/i] he thought [i] Perhaps I won’t have to be teaching these kids some fucking respect, after all [/i]. He marched past the assembled students, flanked by two armoured guards, striding up to the tall metal podium at the far end of the hall.
 
“You all know why you’re here, so I won’t bother with introductions.” He announced in a calm, clear voice, which carried across the room. 

“We have equipment, classes, and simulations accessible to the students here at the Sanctum, but these systems are expensive, and we can’t afford to make the available to every single young person that steps off the submersible.” He explained, stone faced and devoid of emotion. 

“This is where your first assignment comes in; to separate the strong from the dead.” 

The holographic screen Vhul flickered to life with a burst of blue and orange light, displaying an authentic looking logo. 

“Maison de masques,” Vhul narrated, his back still the screen “I’m sure you’re all familiar with the Alterus Corporation’s leading fashion and cosmetic megacorporation, operating out of Paris. Maison De Masques specialise in cosmetic surgery and organ replacements, outfitting their clients with top-of-the range body parts, to stay ahead of the latest fashion crazes. They employ a variety of models to showcase these body parts, selling them faces, arms, legs, breasts, and whatever else on loan.” 

A slight shimmer of light, and the screen projected a hologram of a lean man with a piggish face and slim brown eyes, dressed in a dark business suit. A ridiculously eccentric blonde quiff erupted from the top of his head, and he had a permanent sneer plastered across his puffy pink lips. 

“Marcel Beauchée.” Vhul announced solemnly “Your target.”  

The Captain paused for a moment, clearing his throat loudly before he continued. 

“Mister Beauchée recently inherited the company from his father, Sebastian Beauchée, and has already begun employing extremely vicious business techniques to stay ahead of his competitors. Our client is the poster girl for Maison de masques’ new range: Madame Monique Leauombre” 

The screen flickered again, depicting a curvaceous young woman with broad hips and platinum blonde curls. She had sparkling sapphire eyes, deep red lips, and a full bosom. 

“Madame Leauombre has worked at Maison de masques for several years, and is currently modelling the ‘Bombshell body parts’ line, but wants to move on and do different things.” Vhul explained calmly. 

“However, she’s been presented with a problem; her likeness is on loan from the Maison de masques for several billion, and if she were to leave now then her face would be reclaimed by the company.” Vhul’s dark brown eyes settled on the students. “Madame Leauombre wants us to go in, take out Marcel, thus giving one of our umbrella companies the option to takeover Maison de masques, liquidated it, and allow our young bombshell to keep her face.” 

“Unfortunately, an obstacles emerged.” Vhul said darkly. 

“Instead of coming straight to us, Madame Leauombre opted to use a cheaper alternative to take out Marcel, who failed in their job. Thankfully, the hitmen weren’t traced back to Madame Leauombre, but Marcel’s brought in extra security as a safety percussion.” 

Another flicker of light, and now the screen displayed a plain-faced, dark haired man with a strong jaw and steely grey eyes. 

“Nadim Price. Ex-SAS field medic, with seven years working in private security, and twenty as an Alterus assassin. He’s Marcel’s personal bodyguard, and you’ll need to factor him out of the equation before taking on Marcel himself. Nadim is a formidable opponent, but he has a weakness….” 

The screen flashed again, depicting a dark haired teenage girl who bore a slightly resemblance to Nadim facially. 

“His daughter, Nardia. They share an apartment together, paid for by Marcel. Exploit Nadim’s family connections, and you may have the opportunity to avoid a direct confrontation with him. It’s up to you.” 

Vhul cleared his throat once more “You’ll be posing as interns working at Maison de masques, under the cover of helping out with their next catwalk event. I suggest you all get some rest and prepare yourselves, the submersible leaves in a few days.” 

And with that, Vhul strode out of the dining hall.