Known to most as Il Parlatore, the stranger shifted uncomfortably as he listened voice on his cellphone. This was no small feat, since Il Parlatore was admired by many within the organisation, and feared by quite a few. He had a mixed reputation, earned over seven years of dedicated service to the obscure dealings of the people for whom he now worked. He was known for his usually calm demeanor, his ability to make reasonable points and empathise with others regarding their struggles and the difficulties of getting the job done. He had been there, done that, and he understood that mistakes sometimes happened, bumps were found along the way, and it was best to work around them, rather than obliterate the one who failed. He was also known for what he did to those on his target list, particularly those on what he called his Nice List: anyone who had come across sensitive information, but was not a servant to the cause. In most cases, those individuals were either converted by him, or they were never heard from again, their ultimate fates rumours to be terrible to the point that not even his superiors wanted to know, most of the time. He was, quite simply, a dangerous man, someone who did terrible things, all in the name of the cause to which the entire organisation was dedicated.
Yet there he was, shifting uncomfortably, because this time he was the one who messed up. He had committee a near fatal mistake, and unacceptably compromised the entire operation. He was listening to an associate, one from the senior leadership, who was not amused by his mistake.
"Your job is to get things done. That is what we hired you to do, and that is what you have carefully done for seven years. Yet I have had to call you directly, breaking all protocols to talk directly, because you are being investigates by the ESS, and the worse part if you didn't even know." A pause, apparently for the voice to talk with someone else on its side of the line. "I am issuing an immediate recall protocol. Your remaining targets will be reassigned. You are to report to the local facility and wait for further instructions. Is that clear?"
"It is clear."
He had made a mistake, and unlike him, associates had little patience for those. He put away his phone and turned to his second, a man who was standing a few metres away, clearly having heard the entire conversation. They got moving. It was a long way to the local facility, and with the ESS behind them, every step they took now was immensely riskier than the last.