Scion

The novel begins with an assassin named Azure, who, while infiltrating a wealthy estate, is attacked by a ten-foot-tall bio-engineered creature called an Argos. During the fight, Azure sustains a severe injury to his thigh. Using his genetic enhancements, known as “revs,” and a ceramic knife, Azure kills the creature by throwing his knife to distract it, sliding beneath its claws, punching out its knee so it crashes through a glass wall, then mounting its back and reaching through an eye socket into its torso to crush an essential organ. 

After sealing his wound with a stitch spray, he retrieves his communication device, the q-com, from a Faraday pouch and contacts his AI-driven handler, Atti (short for ATRoPoS), while approaching the house from the garden. Atti informs him that his next assignment is a two-week defensive job, which Azure repeatedly refuses. Citing the high pay (or “tokens”) on offer and his inability to afford two weeks without an active contract, Atti insists he take the job. 

Azure enters his rich target’s house using a replicated thumbprint. The target is a man who is fit and apparently young despite being nearly 90 years old. This man is a “lifer,” someone who has artificially modified his genetics to extend his lifespan.