Valkyrie Smash

"Alright," Sam spoke as he directed his drones. "Let's see those faces."

Sam was far from being an expert on cybersecurity so all he could do was initiate the hacking software Elina made once for fun. A couple of minutes later it became clear that he didn't have much to worry about. Whoever designed the high-tech suits made sure he didn't skimp on their security, but in the end it wasn't enough.

The intruders' helmets folded open to reveal a set of calm faces. The drones began working their facial recognition program immediately while Sam tried to see if he recognized any of them. Turns out two of them were women, which he wasn't expecting considering the relatively masculine design of the tech suits.

'Something is off…'

The more he stared at the four intruders the more suspicion gnawed at his mind. Before long it became clear that the source of his discomfort was the lifeless gaze in their eyes. Lifeless pupils stared back at Sam, each lacking the clear glint of a living being. In that moment Sam was confident that none of them were alive despite their life signs saying otherwise.

'Brainwashing, huh…' He thought, unable to suppress a grimace. 'It makes sense now.'

There was no need for them to end themselves since they were already dead. In such a state, the only thing they're capable of is executing their orders. Sam guessed that there was no point in interrogating them.

"Confiscate their equipment and throw them in a cell somewhere." As he gave the Valkyries their instruction, he felt his phone vibrating. "Make sure to restrain them well. We don't know what they might still do."

[Head General Sanderson.] Mimir's face appeared the moment Sam took the call.

"Did something happen, Mimir?"

[Nothing urgent.] said the green haired Nephilim. [I just wanted to inform you that we managed to capture an assassin.]

Sam stared at her incredulously.

"Pardon?"

[An armored individual showed up at our door and opened fire as soon as we opened it.] She replied, her expression unchanging. [We were able to restrain them before anyone got hurt. I suggest you come here to assess the situation.]

Sam turned his gaze to Sitta who averted hers at the same moment. As it turned out, her Walls Have Ears ability isn't as omniscient as they thought.

'Well, this isn't a first…'

"I will be there in a few minutes."

Sam finished the call then stopped to reorganize his thoughts. Four intruders sneaked into the hotel's parking lot and another made his way to the upper floors somehow. Their gear shows that they weren't some average terrorists, and with their brains wiped it's clear that the one behind it all had put some thought into this operation.

"You three can handle things here, right?" Sam asked.

"Yes." Nana straightened her posture and saluted. "Please rest assured. We will take care of it."

Sam spared the four intruders one final look before walking away. Sitta took his arm and summoned her halo. The next instant they were looking at the door to the Nephilim suite. Inside a small half transparent box sat a short woman dressed in black. Her equipment wasn't as bulky as what the other intruders wore and the design alone said that it was calibrated for speed.

"Head General."

Mimir's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"So this is the assassin?"

"Indeed." Mimir sighed. "She wasn't much of a threat but…"

Just like the four from before, the one in front of them remained motionless the entire time. Mjolnir came over and showed them the weapon used by the intruder. Though it was the size of a hand gun, the ammunition loaded into it turned out to be radioactive, making the weapon a miniaturized nuclear bomb.

"Sitta, gather the other Valkyries and make a full sweep of the entire building." Sam instructed. "I want to make sure we didn't miss anything."

"Understood."

Before the ginger Valkyrie went away, Zero Five and CS appeared to take her place. Confusion slowed Sam's thoughts. His mind failed to comprehend what was happening. Who would be stupid enough to make an assassination attempt on the Nephilim queen? Did they seriously believe that the gear they had would be enough to do the job?

Or was everything just a decoy to avert their attention from something else?

'Again... something doesn't feel right…'

Heaving a sigh, Sam turned to the Nephilim, wanting to inquire for more details.

"You said she wasn't much of a threat, right?"

"Yes. I made sure to place a barrier before opening the door." Mimir answered. "Still, I'm sure nothing would've happened even if I didn't do that."

"How did Her Majesty react?"

"She's troubled by the lack of security. Even if the assassin was incapable of doing any harm, the fact that she made it so far is alarming."

"Right…"

Though killing the Valkyries and Nephilim was a very difficult task, doing so wasn't the only way to land a blow on Sam and his allies. If the assassin focused her efforts on eavesdropping and information gathering instead she might've got her hands on some crucial intel that would prove to be useful another time.

Sam's drones finished scanning the assassin and recognized several materials used among them. One in particular was a miniaturized version of a stealth module used by Cold Breeze, an A class Calamity that was famous for striking deep into human territory without triggering any of the surveillance sensors.

"I guess I owe Her Majesty an apology." Sam muttered to himself.

"Then may I suggest inviting her for dinner?" Mimir pounced on the chance right away.

"Yeah, I think that-"

It took him a moment to think her words through, at which point he he turned a shocked look to the green haired Nephilim.

"A dinner?" He parroted.

"Yes, a dinner." Mimir nodded. "Did you intend on just saying sorry and be done with it?"

Of course, that wasn't the case. Despite everything, Thor is still the leader of a very powerful group. He knew that he would have to make an official apology of sorts, a written letter for example, but he wasn't thinking of a dinner invitation.

It clicked to him that the suggestion was another ploy to close the distance between him and the crimson queen. Mimir made it clear on several occasions that she wished to bring him and Thor together, after all. Still, with how things have been going so far Sam couldn't help but feel like the opposite was happening.

'I doubt a dinner would do much…'