The Valour Park Statue

Mob Boss Peggy
Snowfall. Little, symmetrical flecks of ice, falling from the sky, drifting along the breeze until they set upon the head of a shining, metal fixture. Sitting on a bench in the center of an empty park, under a bare tree that had long lost its leaves. The titanium figure at first seemed immovable and inorganic, as any work of art in Valour Park. Just another sculpture erected in dedication of some rich sponsor.

The figure was leaned against the park bench, head and shoulders covered with a thin blanket of white snow. In its hand, a... phone? Upon closer inspection, it would become clear that the statue was living, moving on its own, not as a robot, but as a man. A futuristic vision of a man made out of metal, who breathed hot breath, and moved as any man would. His eyes were empty and irisless, and his face statuesque as he stared down at the device.

Gavin had felt the thing rumble beside him and picked it up to see the messages being left as a result of his sweep on the foolish online dating application that he had been informed was a prime source for meeting targets. Intel had briefed him on some of the more desirable profiles.

The metal shrank from his body, revealing an ordinary-looking man, dressed in ordinary winter clothing for a man of his age and income bracket. For all intents and purposes, as his skin reverted back to its soft and squishy exterior, Gavin Marks was merely another person in the park. The only person present in those acres, in the middle of a snowfall although he didn't seem to care about the cold.

He gazed upon the 'matches' and as usual, the man's expression remained stony.

These children. Such naive children. Typical members of society who coveted nothing more than money and lost all sense in pursuit of it. He gazed upon the face of their supposed leader as he scrolled through - at least, that was what he had been told he was. Another foolish child who would be, like many leaders in history, undone by the weak links in his chain.

There was another. A young man that he didn't recognize from the briefings. Gavin sent the photo of Fan Li to his most crucial contacts.

'Who is this? One of them?'