Corvus' laughed bitterly "Good to see Estermere treats it's guests with such kindness and compassion." He paused, then added as an afterthought "Mind you, being a full human myself, I don't think I can really say anything. So far, everyone has been perfectly pleasant to me."

"But how do you see me?" It was put to her as a test and Corvus made no attempts to hide that. "If I can see right through you, I wonder if you can do the same to me. Perhaps we are just open people, or know each other particularly well. Tell me what you think of me."

"Never play a bad hand" he said as a response to her statement about him having the upper hand. His tone was stiff, but motivating, a little bit like a mentor or tutor of some kind "First rule of covert operations: if it looks like things are going to go belly up, they probably will. Second rule: All warfare depends on deception. The spy and the assassin are two of the most powerful units at a general's disposal. A good warrior can win a battle, a good spy could win a war. If you really want to go into the shadowy business of contract killing, that's one of the big things you need to know. And my third rule: know your target better than he knows himself. Before you go kamikaze and start shanking folk for the giggles, remember most contractors pay for as little blood spilled as possible. If you want to deal with someone without having to fight of his security, not to mention thguards, you need to study a man until you know his next move before even he knows it. Find out what he likes, dislikes, loves, loathes, his vices and temptations, the moment's he's at his strongest and, most crucially, when he is weakest. Wait for the opportune moment - you were impatient in the bar today. You got sloppy and thus got caught. If I were anyone else, you might be dead, or worse. The entire enterprise relies on you having a plan. Don't break it, don't deviate and always have a backup plan in case things go wrong. Have two, just in case."

Bloody hell, he could talk. Corvus never really thought of himself as the talkative type, but now he wasn't so sure. Obviously this girl wasn't like the rest of these degenerates, with her good manners and slightly rebellious nature. Did she think the same way he did? Would she be willing..?

No. He had to screen her thoroughly before he asked anything major.