Standing outside the Southern Yue Teahouse, Hunter watched Diana step into a black SUV surrounded by a ring of heavily armed bodyguards.
The motorcade pulled away, quickly disappearing into the chaotic flow of New York traffic.
Hunter didn't linger. He blended into the crowd, vanishing just as smoothly.
Meeting "Diana" and triggering the plot of Hitman: Agent 47 was an intriguing development.
Despite demanding that the stunning, cold CEO act as his personal handler—a demand born more out of his habitual "Sea King" arrogance than actual, burning lust—he wasn't desperately obsessed with getting her into bed.
What genuinely fascinated Hunter was the organization standing behind her.
He still wasn't entirely sure which organization Diana was representing in this specific cinematic universe blend.
In his past life, he knew of two distinct possibilities regarding Diana Burnwood's affiliations.
The first, and most prominent, was the International Contract Agency (ICA).
The ICA was a legendary, clandestine organization very similar to the High Table that governed the Continental Hotels. It functioned as a global clearinghouse for professional assassins and mercenaries, providing them with high-value contracts, logistical support, and immunity from international law enforcement—for a price.
Whenever an operative successfully completed a primary objective, the ICA paid out handsomely. If they completed secondary objectives, they received massive bonuses.
The protagonist of the Hitman franchise, Agent 47, was the ICA's crown jewel. Diana Burnwood was his dedicated handler.
However, Agent 47's origins were incredibly complex.
In the original game lore, 47 was the culmination of decades of illegal cloning and genetic augmentation conducted in a Romanian asylum by Dr. Ort-Meyer, funded by five global criminal masterminds.
But there was a second possibility, stemming from the specific 2015 movie adaptation (Hitman: Agent 47), which this universe seemed to be drawing from given Diana's appearance.
In that continuity, the major antagonistic force was Syndicate International.
Syndicate International publicly operated as a massive, globe-spanning bio-pharmaceutical corporation headquartered in Singapore.
But pharmaceuticals were just a front.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, the Syndicate used its immense wealth to recruit top-tier Soviet scientists. Specifically, they targeted geneticists who had worked on a highly classified, Cold War-era project: The Agent Program.
During the 1960s and 70s, the KGB funded a radical research initiative aimed at creating the ultimate supersoldier. Through extreme genetic modification and psychological conditioning, they sought to engineer biological weapons—assassins devoid of fear, hesitation, or pain, possessing superhuman strength, stamina, and intelligence.
When the Soviet Union fell, the lead scientist of the Agent Program, Dr. Petr Litvenko, realized the horror of his creation and vanished, taking the secrets of the genetic formula with him.
Most governments were terrified of the Agent Program and wanted it buried forever.
But Syndicate International desperately wanted to restart it. They poured billions into bio-engineering and cybernetic enhancements (like subdermal titanium armor), trying to artificially replicate Litvenko's flawless genetic assassins so they could mass-produce an unstoppable army.
Hunter had watched the 2015 movie, though he vastly preferred the original games.
Therefore, he wasn't entirely sure if this "Diana" was working for the ICA, or if she was secretly affiliated with Syndicate International as part of a movie-specific plot twist.
Regardless of which faction she belonged to, Hunter knew he wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
He highly doubted that whatever rudimentary genetic manipulation the Syndicate or the ICA possessed could produce a soldier whose baseline attributes were universally four timesgreater than a normal human.
Armed with his system, Hunter was a genuine, organic superhuman whose stats were still actively growing.
He was confident that in a straight fight, he was stronger than Agent 47.
The only wild card was Katia van Dees—Litvenko's daughter from the movie—who possessed genetically inherited superhuman spatial awareness and precognitive combat instincts. Hunter wasn't sure how his system-enhanced reflexes stacked up against her pseudo-psychic abilities.
As he walked down the street, lost in thought, his encrypted Continental satellite phone vibrated.
Hunter stepped into a quiet alleyway and answered.
Cole's voice immediately came through the speaker.
"Hunter. I didn't expect you to cause such a massive, apocalyptic mess."
"I assume you've vented enough of your anger by now?"
Hunter raised an eyebrow. He could read between the lines. Cole was calling to tell him to call off the hunt for the final three Hicks Consulting executives.
This meant one of two things: either the DoD/CIA had finally stepped in and ordered a ceasefire, or Hicks Consulting had completely surrendered to the Continental.
Hearing Hunter's silence, Cole let out a heavy sigh.
"Hicks Consulting officially contacted the Hotel this morning. They waved the white flag."
"They offered terms of unconditional surrender. The Manager... accepted."
A cold smile spread across Hunter's face, though he remained silent.
Cole knew Hunter was likely furious that his prey was being protected. He quickly tried to smooth things over.
"Mr. Scott understands this decision might feel like a betrayal to you. You did the heavy lifting."
"To compensate you for halting your operation, the Manager has authorized a direct payment to your account. Twenty Continental gold coins."
Hunter remained silent for several long seconds, letting the tension build. Finally, he spoke.
"I didn't slaughter a small army just to get bought off with twenty coins."
"And don't think I didn't notice that several of the 'executives' listed in the intel dossier you sold me had absolutely nothing to do with Hicks Consulting."
Hunter knew Winston had used him to wipe out unrelated rivals while he was on his rampage.
"If you want me to stop, I want twenty coins... and two additional favors. I need the Continental's intelligence network to locate two specific people for me."
The line went quiet for a moment as Cole considered the demand.
"Done," Cole agreed quickly.
"Send me the details of the individuals you're looking for. I will personally oversee the search and get back to you as soon as possible."
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